Kings-Ducks Freeway series will be won in the gutter

Cam Cole, Vancouver Sun columnist05.07.2014

L.A. Kings defenceman Drew Doughty (No. 8) takes a punch to the chops from Anaheim Ducks blueliner Francois Beauchemin (centre, in black) during a battle in front of Kings goalie Jonathan Quick in Saturday’s Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. This Freeway series has been a rugged affair between the two SoCal teams.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — It speaks volumes of the "one for all, all for Canada" mentality Mike Babcock instilled in his Olympic team that the entire Sochi hockey tournament passed without Corey Perry touching off a single international incident.

He's usually good for one or two atrocities per game.

Nothing actionable, you understand, just … sort of deplorable, if you're the opposition. And sort of great, if you're a teammate.

This is not to say that the Anaheim Ducks' opponents in this California Freeway series are babes in the woods — L.A. Kings captain Dustin Brown can slime an opponent, accidentally of course, with the best of them.

But down two games to none with the series shifting north to the Staples Centre on Thursday, when Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau is challenging his players to get in L.A. goalie Jonathan Quick's kitchen by whatever means, to get more of those "dirty, greasy goals" … well, he doesn't have to look too far down the bench to see the undisputed king of grease.

Monday's 3-1 Ducks loss was notable for video footage surfacing from two nights earlier of Perry, the Ducks' first-line winger, sipping from a water bottle at the bench during a stoppage in play, then casually squirting the contents into one of Jeff Carter's gloves, which the Kings forward had left unattended on top of the boards.

"I don't know," Perry shrugged Tuesday, with that look of wide-eyed innocence that all the really great bunco artists affect. "It was just sitting there, and I was drinking water."

Like, (italics) of course (end italics) he squirted the water in there. What else would you do, given that kind of opportunity?

Carter saw it happen, glanced at a linesman, the tiniest grin on his face, and calmly retrieved the glove. He and Perry were Canadian Olympic teammates. He knows. They all know.

"Just trying to get under people's skin, I guess. Trying to get people off their game," said Perry, who drove to the net in Game 2, perhaps lost an edge or perhaps not, and piled into Quick, blades first, prompting the goalie to whack him in the groin. Perry was unpenalized. Quick got two for roughing.

"Quick is a world-class goalie, those are the type of goalies that if they see the puck they will stop it. You got to have those second opportunities, you have to be willing to get to the front of the net," Perry said.

Asked if that meant playing right on the edge, or over it, he said "sometimes you may have to, but we're not trying to cross that line. We want to be disciplined, we don't want to take too many penalties."

It's only natural: the Ducks are trying to target the Kings' key elements. Big forward Patrick Maroon launched a high, hard one at Quick from dead in front of the net on a delayed high-stick call, knowing that as soon as he touched the puck the whistle would go, so he might as well get his money's worth.

Anaheim's Francois Beauchemin whacked Drew Doughty on a nerve in the back of the knee, perfectly deadening the right leg of the Kings' star defenceman for a few moments, and later on, Doughty's legs were taken out from behind by a Matt Beleskey charge.

"I would have hit anyone the same way, if it was him or not," said Beleskey, "but he's obviously one of their best players. They do it to our guys and we've got to do it to them."

"It's the playoffs," said L.A. coach Darryl Sutter, no doubt realizing that if he complained about the Ducks when they crossed the line, he wouldn't be able to defend his own players when they do the same.

"It's playoff hockey," said Boudreau. "We've got to do what we've got to do to win the game. It's not do or die, but obviously we're behind the eight-ball right now.

"(Doughty) is one of the best in the world, if not the best defenceman in the world. So we acknowledge that and we're trying to get him off his game. He's on the ice all the time and he's a difference-maker."

Boudreau may not be running out of answers, but he does sound exasperated. Not only did the Kings' Anze Kopitar line dominate the matchup with Ducks' top unit, centered by their MVP Ryan Getzlaf, but Quick has been nigh-on impregnable in the L.A. net.

Boudreau joked that Quick was swallowing up every shot he could see, like Velcro — "I may have to sneak in and check his equipment," he said — but therein lies the solution.

"If he can see everything, he's going to stop it. If we continue to play the perimeter, we're not going to have success against him," he said.

Everyone agrees getting bodies in front of the net is the solution. The Ducks have beaten that horse to death … verbally.

"We can talk about certain things, but their defence is good. They didn't win the Jennings Trophy just by luck," Boudreau said. "They're a good defensive team, and they block shots, so we've got to find ways to get around their big bodies and not let Quick see the puck. It's easy to say, not that easy to do."

The San Jose Sharks found holes in the Kings' defensive shell for the first three games of the playoffs, but since then the 2012 champs have tightened up, and Quick has been in Conn Smythe form.

"Their system is really basic. There's nothing extravagant with what Darryl's doing," Boudreau said. "They just do it well. They've got the right personnel, they've been through the wars, they've won the Cup before and they know how to do it."

Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller knows he's been outplayed by Quick. Getzlaf knows his unit has been outplayed by Kopitar's line.

"He feels he needs to be a little bit better. He's probably correct," Boudreau said of his captain. "But he's putting pressure on himself to be the best, which is what great players do. He knows the he's the leader of this group, and when he's going his best, we usually have a good result."

They need one in the worst way. And it may take the worst way to get it.

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